Napoleon - In a Nutshell

This ‘In a Nutshell’ guide explores the life and legacy of Napoleon Bonaparte, whose actions as the French military and political leader shaped European politics — his Napoleonic code influenced the judicial foundations of most of Western Europe. Under the First French Republic he successfully revolted against the First and Second Coalitions, and in 1804 the French Senate appointed him Emperor. In the early 19th century he led France to victory and helped the country become a dominant European power.

The Renaissance: In a Nutshell

The fifth in the new Naxos Audiobooks series "In a Nutshell", The Renaissance is a short and accessible introduction to the era that gave us Leonardo da Vinci, Michelangelo and Palestrina. The Renaissance swept across Europe between the 14th and 17th centuries, heralding intellectual revolutions in science, art, philosophy and politics, and marking a decisive shift towards modern thinking.

The History of the Sunni and Shia Split: Understanding the Divisions within Islam

Different branches of the same religion are the exception more than the rule, and they have had a profound impact upon history. The schism between the Orthodox and Catholic Churches influenced relationships between nations across Europe, and religious intolerance based on different Christian faiths led to persecution and outright violence across the continent for centuries.

The French Revolution: A Very Short Introduction

William Doyle, the author of the classic text on the French Revolution, guides the reader through a historical event of such import and consequence that we are still living with its developments today. Beginning with a discussion of the familiar images of the French Revolution, Doyle continues on to a brief survey of the old regime and how it collapsed.

From Muhammed to Burj Khalifa: A Crash Course in 2,000 Years of Middle East History

To untangle the modern Middle East conflict and the 2,000 years behind it, this book is divided into 25 concise chapters. Each one is devoted to a major theme in Middle East history, such as the beginning of Islam, the Crusades, Genghis Khan, and the beginning of Israel in 1948. They can be read in a few minutes, giving you a fast overview of the issues and help you to understand Middle East current events.

The American Civil War

Between 1861 and 1865, the clash of the greatest armies the Western hemisphere had ever seen turned small towns, little-known streams, and obscure meadows in the American countryside into names we will always remember. In those great battles, those streams ran red with blood-and the United States was truly born.

The Hundred Years War: The History of Europe's Most Famous War of the Middle Ages

Although it ended over 550 years ago, the Hundred Years' War still looms large in the historical consciousness of England and France, even if the name of the famous war is a misnomer. Actually a series of separate conflicts between the English and French monarchies, interspersed with periods of peace, its historical image is an odd one, in part because its origins were based on royal claims that dated back centuries.

Alexander, Hannibal, and Julius Caesar: Three Generals Who Conquered the Ancient World: History 1-Hour Reads

Of all the generals in the ancient world, none matches the accomplishments of Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, and Hannibal of Carthage. Whatever their backgrounds, these rulers showed that the right military commander at the right time in history can destroy an empire, change civilization, and alter the course of world history forever.

Confucius: In a Nutshell

Confucius stands alone among the world's great thinkers. Perhaps no other teacher has exerted so powerful a hold over so many people for so long. For two and a half millennia his sayings, preserved and developed by generations of his followers, have shaped the cultural and political life of the world's most populous nation, and they continue to offer fresh insights for today's globalized society. This audiobook sets Confucius's life and teachings in the context of the long history of China....

French Short Stories for Beginners: 9 Captivating Short Stories to Learn French and Expand Your Vocabulary While Having Fun

Are you bored with the traditional methods people tell you to use to learn French? Are you bored with all those dusty grammar books that make everything look so hard? What if we told you there's a better, more enjoyable way to learn French and grow your vocabulary exponentially? Well, guess what? There is! The best way to learn French is by listening to short stories. The problem? You might feel like you don't know where to start. And that's exactly why we created this book.

The World Remade: America in World War I

After years of bitter debate, the United States declared war on Imperial Germany on April 6, 1917, plunging the country into the savage European conflict that would redraw the map of the continent - and the globe. The World Remade is an engrossing chronicle of America's pivotal, still controversial intervention into World War I, encompassing the tumultuous politics and towering historical figures that defined the era and forged the future.

Debriefing the President: The Interrogation of Saddam Hussein

In December 2003, after one of the largest, most aggressive manhunts in history, US military forces captured Iraqi president Saddam Hussein near his hometown of Tikrit. Beset by body-double rumors and false alarms during a nine-month search, the Bush administration needed positive identification of the prisoner before it could make the announcement that would rocket around the world. At the time John Nixon was a senior CIA leadership analyst who had spent years studying the Iraqi dictator.

A Tale of Two Cities [Tantor]

A Tale of Two Cities is one of Charles Dickens's most exciting novels. Set against the backdrop of the French Revolution, it tells the story of a family threatened by the terrible events of the past. Doctor Manette was wrongly imprisoned in the Bastille for 18 years without trial by the aristocratic authorities.

North Korea Undercover: Inside the World's Most Secret State

North Korea is like no other tyranny on Earth. Its citizens are told their home is the greatest nation in the world, and Big Brother is always watching. It is Orwell's 1984 made reality. Huge factories with no staff or electricity, hospitals with no patients, uniformed child soldiers, and the world-famous and eerily empty DMZ - the Demilitarized Zone, where North Korea ends and South Korea begins - are all framed by a relentless flow of regime propaganda from omnipresent loudspeakers. Free speech is an illusion: one word out of line, and the gulag awaits.

The Universe in a Nutshell

With characteristic exuberance, Stephen Hawking invites us to be fellow travelers on this extraordinary voyage through spacetime, as he seeks "to combine Einstein's General Theory of Relativity and Richard Feynman's idea of multiple histories into one complete unified theory that will describe everything that happens in the universe."

Thinking Like an Economist: A Guide to Rational Decision Making

Economic forces are everywhere around you. But that doesn't mean you need to passively accept whatever outcome those forces might press upon you. Instead, with these 12 fast-moving and crystal clear lectures, you can learn how to use a small handful of basic nuts-and-bolts principles to turn those same forces to your own advantage.

The Other Side of History: Daily Life in the Ancient World

Look beyond the abstract dates and figures, kings and queens, and battles and wars that make up so many historical accounts. Over the course of 48 richly detailed lectures, Professor Garland covers the breadth and depth of human history from the perspective of the so-called ordinary people, from its earliest beginnings through the Middle Ages.

Citizens: A Chronicle of the French Revolution

From one of the truly preeminent historians of our time, this is a landmark book chronicling the French Revolution. Simon Schama deftly refutes the contemporary notion that the French Revolution represented an uprising of the oppressed poor against a decadent aristocracy and corrupt court. He argues instead that the revolution was born of a rift among the elite over the speed of progress toward modernity and science, social and economic change.

Audible Editor Reviews

Between 1789 and 1799, ten years of violent turmoil in France grew out of Europe's Enlightenment. After the pillars of power - the Catholic Church, the aristocracy, and the monarchy - fell, continued intramural conflicts stained the decade. In 1799, Napoleon assumed power in a coup and declared the revolution to be over. The author condenses this complex, controversial, and critical period and narrator Roy McMillan aptly fits the performance bill with his impeccable French. He chooses a pace that is appropriate to delivering great quantities of information while still allowing listeners time to absorb it. His performance succeeds in its succinct reporting of a consequential historical period, and one hopes it will whet the curiosity of those less familiar with these events.

Publisher's Summary

The fifth in the new Naxos audioooks series "In a Nutshell", The French Revolution is a short and accessible introduction to one of the most important periods in European history. It brings vividly to life the implacable Robespierre, the frightened Marie Antoinette and the iconic image of the guillotine. But it also demonstrates the key role the Revolution played in the development of European politics.